Creative Ways to Save Your HiB30 Stickers

This blog was written in partnership with our friends at Turtle Fur. Every May in the U.S. we celebrate Mother’s Day—at OutGrown we aim to celebrate and support those mamas all year long! Our Turn the Blues Green program focuses on combating the perinatal depression and baby blues that new parents often face. We provide the resources new parents need to feel safe, comfortable and able to get outside with their babies and find a supportive community. The benefits of spending time outdoors for new mamas and babies The outdoors provides elements we need to regulate hormones, ease stress and improve our sleep/wake cycles. Spending time in nature helps to: Increase serotonin Reduce cortisol Improve cognition Ease depression Boost immune function Improve sleep When new moms reap the benefits of spending time outdoors, so do their babies—and by going out together begin to bridge the ever-growing baby-nature gap recent generations have experienced. How to support yourself or other new mamas to combat the baby blues The “baby blues”—which can affect up to 85% of new parents—is difficult to go through and can be hard to distinguish from perinatal depression (formerly known as post-partum depression), which is a condition that often requires medical treatment and intervention. A trusted healthcare provider should always be in the loop when you or a loved one is experiencing the symptoms of depression after the birth of a child. There are also resources like the free, confidential National Maternal Mental Health hotline: 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262). What else can you do to help yourself when experiencing depression after birth? Find simple ways to spend time outdoors every day, like taking extra time when checking the mailbox, stopping to feel the sun on your face as you walk into the store, or choosing to meet friends/family/colleagues at a park instead of inside. Look up other supportive communities (like Hike it Baby) in your area and commit to joining at least once per week. Research and ask other parents about their experiences and what gear or resources helped them the most in their post-birth journey. Reward and treat yourself when you accomplish goals. Get inspired. Be inspiring. Sometimes it helps to simply know that you aren’t alone in your experience with depression and the baby blues. By sharing our stories, we can help decrease the stigma associated with mental health and help others get through difficult times. Stories like Dawn’s and Angela’s can help others know there are ways to overcome difficulties after giving birth. Looking for new gear to get outside with your little ones this summer? Check out Turtle Fur’s new summer collection for adults and kids! Photo credit: Laura Castro _ Burg Life Photography Here's a little more about OutGrown: We're a national, 501c3 nonprofit with over a decade of experience helping families get outside with their babies and young children. We believe it is critical to include and center families from birth because it is a crucial developmental time for both the infant and the parent, where we can create a life-long, multi-generational impact. We know that we protect what we love and we're helping families build a loving connection with the outdoors so they can value and protect it for generations to come. As a community-driven organization, we have been working with indigenous, Latine, BIPOC, immigrant & refugee, and rural families to co-design multilingual and culturally relevant solutions in our programming. Since its grassroots inception in 2013, OutGrown is a growing community of 280,000 families and over 300 volunteers. More information on all of our programs can be found at WeAreOutGrown.org  EDITORS NOTE: We hope you enjoyed reading this article from OutGrown. We’re working hard to provide our community with content and resources that inform, inspire, and entertain you. But content is not free. It’s built on the hard work and dedication of writers, editors, and volunteers. We make an investment in developing premium content to make it easier for families with young children to connect with nature and each other. We do not ask this lightly, but if you can, please make a contribution and help us extend our reach.  

Downloadable PDF with resources for promoting and joining the Spring Sensory Celebration.